Narrative:A number of the passengers saw the outbreak of fire from under the cabin floor when the aircraft was on short final to Mogadishu International Airport (MGQ). The pilots unaware of the fire, experienced complete loss of control of the aircraft at a distance of approximately 2 kilometres from touchdown. The aircraft, however, continued to fly on the correct heading towards the runway and a slight nose-down attitude was corrected by the application of power. The aircraft landed heavily exactly on the centreline and on the threshold of runway 24 and at a speed of at 130 kts.The nosewheel hit first and the gear sheared rearwards. The aircraft continued rolling on its main gear with the nose on the ground. It came to rest after nearly 900 metres; the fire then developed quickly and destroyed most of the aircraft fuselage. The fire intensified after the aircraft came to rest and the fire brigade, who arrived at the scene within minutes, was unable to control the fire, which eventually destroyed the aircraft. The majority of the passengers and all the crew were able to evacuate the aircraft timely, however five children perished. A number of passengers and two crewmembers (cabin) sustained injuries and/or burns of varying degrees.

PROBABLE CAUSE: Intense fire of unknown nature and origin (beneath the floor at row 6) which probably resulted in loss of flight controls.

This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Networkĺs opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.